EMERGING TRENDS IN CURRICULUM
DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA
PROF. Lilian – Rita Akudolu
Department of Educational Foundations
Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka Nigeria.
Website: http://www.lilianrita.com
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INTRODUCTION
Over the years, human beings in different societies have sought
and embarked on various means to foster the development and
maturity of the young ones. The goal was to perpetuate the value
system and promote human development in all its ramifications.
In this regard, different forms of education have been in practice
in different cultures. The introduction of more organized or
formal education in schools offered these societies systematic
ways for achieving their goals of education and these systematic
ways constitute the curriculum. Just as the ways of educational
endeavours vary from one society to the other, so are the
variations in the concept of curriculum.
At a focus group discussion with a group of students who offered
curriculum as a course the previous year, the following
perceptions of the curriculum emerged:
1.
A selection of courses that are beneficial to students at
different levels of education.
2.
The content of what children learn in school.
3.
The collection of all the subjects and experiences needed to
be imparted in a child within the four walls of a school.
4.
The content of a particular program.
5.
The courses done during the period of study in school.
6.
The content of what a student is to learn.
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However, curriculum embraces more than courses, content,
subjects and learning experiences as presented in the above
perceptions. It involves the planning, the implementation and
assessment of learning experiences that schools offer to learners
for the achievement of the educational goals of the society. This
implies that the curriculum is concerned with the analysis of
educational goals of a society, the selection and organization of
content to achieve those goals, the presentation and learning of
the
content,
and
assessment to
ascertain the
degree
of
congruence among the goals, organized content, and learnt
content. It is in this regard that Obanya and Fadoju (2008, p.30)
present the curriculum as
a process that involves translating the nation’s broad
educational goals into down-to-earth realities and of
making informed choices on how the realities can be
implemented to ensure that the ultimate goal of
education derived from the Nation’s overall development
goals are attained through the concrete activities of the
schools and the entire education system.
The curriculum is therefore developed with a view to achieving
the nation’s educational goals. In this regard, curriculum
development implies not only the activities of curriculum
specialists in designing the curriculum document but also the
activities of the classroom teachers and learners in planning,
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organizing, implementing and assessing learners in the schools
with the aim of achieving the educational goals of the society
which ultimately is geared towards preparing learners for
effective life in the society. It is in this regard that most
curriculum specialists such as Nicholls and Nicholls (1978),
Onyike (1984) Oriaifo (2005) and Obinefuna (2009) present
curriculum
development
as
the
process
of
planning
and
assessing instruction.
Curriculum development is a continuous process aimed at
ensuring the continued relevance and responsiveness of the
curriculum to societal needs. Since life in the society is dynamic,
curriculum development for effective life in the society is also a
dynamic process. It is in this regard that the present discussion
focuses on emerging trends in curriculum development in
Nigeria. Since these emerging trends or current directions of
change in curriculum development in the country are built on
curriculum
development
endeavours
of
yesteryears,
our
presentation commences with a brief review of curriculum
development in pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial era in
Nigeria. This leads to a discussion of the emerging trends in
curriculum development in Nigeria.
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN THE PRE-COLONIAL ERA
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Prior to the advent of colonial education in Nigeria, people
acquired indigenous education in the families, age groups and in
some indigenous institutions such as the Umu Ada and Iledi in
Igbo and Yoruba speaking areas respectively. The major aim of
this indigenous education was to “produce an individual who is
honest, respectful, skilled, cooperative and conforming to the
social order of the day” (Fafunwa, 1990, p.52). Character training
and vocational training constituted the two pillars of the
indigenous education. The learning content was derived from life
activities while the curriculum development process, involved
listening,
activities.
observation,
The
imitation
vocational
and
training
participation
was
given
in
life
through
apprenticeship system.
Though the arrival of Islamic and Christian religions in 14th and
15th centuries respectively altered this curriculum development
process, it was in 1843 that the first school was established by
the missionaries. The arrival of different missionary groups such
as the Methodist, Anglican, Catholic and Baptist groups resulted
in the establishment of schools by these bodies. The aim of their
curriculum development was the conversion of the citizens to
Christianity and the production of people to manage religious
activities such as catechists, lay-readers and clergy. The learning
content was based on the knowledge of the Bible, ability to sing
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hymns and recite catechisms. Each religious body operated a
unique curriculum development process until the colonial
government became interested in the education of the citizens.
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN THE COLONIAL ERA
The first sign of interest by the colonial government in education
was in the form of financial assistance. Later, the colonial
government became more involved in education and introduced
the use of school inspectors, standardized the syllabuses being
operated
by
introduced
both
external
private
and
mission
examinations.
schools
These
and
also
by
the
actions
government had bearings on curriculum development. The
syllabuses
became
the
guiding
points
for
curriculum
development and instructional efforts were geared towards
preparing learners for external examinations. Uniformity of
purpose embellished in competitive strides became a feature in
curriculum development. Efforts were made in the various
schools to prepare learners for public examinations organized by
such public bodies as Royal Society of Arts, City and Guilds,
London Matriculation, Cambridge examinations etc.
The establishment of West African Examinations Council (WAEC)
in
1952
directed
curriculum
development
efforts
to
the
preparation of students for WAEC examinations. Learning
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content, production of textbooks and other instructional activities
were based on the dictates of WAEC syllabus. Curriculum
development in Nigeria followed this pattern until the first decade
of the nation.
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN THE POST COLONIAL ERA
After independence in 1960, the agitation of Nigerians regarding
the inadequacy of the colonial curriculum to prepare learners for
effective life in Nigerian society and for contribution to the
development of the new nation was intensified. This culminated
in the first national curriculum conference in 1969 which was
aimed at taking a sector-wide review of the education system,
identifying new national goals of education and proposing
strategies to make the curriculum at all levels of the education
system relevant to the Nigerian society. A review of the
recommendations of the conference at the 1973 national seminar
resulted in the publication of the National Policy on Education
(NPE) in 1977 with 2nd, 3rd and 4th editions published in 1981,
1998 and 2004 respectively. The NPE is the pivot of curriculum
development in the country. It specifies the type and quality of
instruction that should be provided so as to help learners at all
levels of education to achieve the aims of permanent literacy,
numeracy and effective citizenship. In this regard, curriculum
development “has to be geared towards self realization, better
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human relationship, individual and national efficiency, effective
citizenship, national consciousness, national unity, as well as
towards social, cultural, economic, political, scientific and
technological progress” (Federal Republic of Nigeria - FRN; 2004,
p.7).
The
NPE
provided
the
curriculum
development
Educational
Research
needed
in
guidelines
the
Council
and
country.
(NERC)
and
boost
for
The
Nigerian
later
Nigerian
Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) used
these NPE guidelines to develop curricula for primary, secondary
and teacher education. Professional associations also started
contributing to curriculum development. Some of these are the
National
Board
for
Technical
Education
(NBTE),
National
Teacher’s Institute (NTI), Science Teachers Association of Nigeria
(STAN) and the Curriculum Organization of Nigeria (CON).
The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) which was
established in 1974 with the job specification of supervising
technical
education
education
in
curriculum
Nigeria
offered
restructured
in
the
polytechnics,
technical
colleges
of
education and technical colleges. The NBTE curriculum was
presented in modules of employable skills with content for
specific job requirements (Adeife, 1993). In 1986, the National
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Teacher’s
Institute
(NTI),
reviewed
and
delivered
teacher
education syllabuses as well as instructional guides for the
implementation of the self-instructional modules.
The Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN) and the
Curriculum
Organization
of
Nigeria
(CON)
contribute
to
curriculum development through the organization of conferences,
workshops, seminars as well as the production of journals;
textbooks and instructional materials.
A close look at these efforts in curriculum development and the
global educational trends indicate the emerging or new issues
that are still unfolding in curriculum development in Nigeria. The
global trends in curriculum development are tilting to the
direction of using the curriculum as an instrument for achieving
total development of every citizen so as to prepare the nation not
only for local and national development but also for international
competitiveness. In this regard, the emerging trends
in
curriculum development in Nigeria or curriculum directions that
are new and still developing are x-rayed in the next section of this
communication and these are discernible in the areas of
educational objectives, content, and methodology.
EMERGING TRENDS IN CURRICULUMDEVELOPMENT
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The
breath-taking
developments
in
information
and
communication technologies with the resulting digital revolution
have launched the world into the knowledge economy in which
ideas and technology are used to promote socio-economic
development
through
the
generation
and
exploitation
of
knowledge.
Consequently, educationists all over the world are making frantic
efforts to realign educational endeavors to equipping learners
with the necessary skills and competencies for effective life in a
knowledge dominated society. Since Nigeria’s philosophy of
education presents education as “an instrument for national
development” (FRN, 2004, p.6), curriculum development in
Nigeria should be aimed at transporting the country from the old,
industrial economy to the new knowledge-based economy.
To achieve this goal of education requires a paradigm shift from
the present time bound model of education to a lifelong model of
education. This is the model of education that is aimed at
developing in the learner the ability to effectively create, acquire,
use and transmit knowledge for the promotion of human
activities in a knowledge dominated society. In this regard,
emphasis in instructional aims is shifting from the acquisition of
factual knowledge to the acquisition of tacit knowledge and
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generic skills while that of the instructional process is shifting
from teaching for examinations to teaching how to learn, how to
communicate and how to perform effectively in a team work. By
implication, curriculum development for a knowledge economy is
based on the development of basic skills (reading, writing,
listening
and
speaking),
thinking
skills,
interpersonal
management and communication skills, social competencies and
other personal qualities such as “responsibility, self-esteem, selfmanagement and integrity” (Stinson, 1994, p.21). Obanya (2007)
expressed a similar view when he summarized the core generic
skills curriculum requirements for the knowledge economy as
knowledge, communication skills, adaptability, creativity, team
spirit, literacy, ICT-fluency and life-long as well as life-wide
learning.
The development of these 21st century required skills and
competencies constitute a driving force for the emergent trend in
the aim of education which is the preparation of learners for
effective life in a knowledge economy that is known for its
networked and volatile characteristics. The quest for the
achievement of this aim of education in different learning
contexts in Nigeria is resulting in the emerging issues in
curriculum development in the country.
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These issues among others are curriculum development in
Education for peace, education for global citizenship, electronic
learning,
teacher
education,
gender
studies
as
well
as
diversification and enrichment of learning content. Only three of
these issues are discussed in full in this presentation and these
are: education for peace, education for global citizenship and
teacher education as teaching and learning strategies.
Education for Peace
The world is experiencing great technological breakthroughs that
ushered in the 21st century but these advancements are coupled
with
rising
incidences
psychological,
and
interpersonal
levels
of
ecological
as
well
physical,
violence
as
economic,
at
communal,
political,
personal
and
national
and
international levels. To tame this tide of violence different
countries are resorting to peace education as instrument for
institutionalizing the adoption of peace and non-violence to
conflict resolutions. The two arms of peace education being
implemented in most societies are education about peace which
implies peace as a subject of study in schools and education for
peace which is concerned with the in and out of school process of
inculcating in learners the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values
to live in harmony with oneself and others by adopting peaceful
resolutions to intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts. In fact
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education for peace presents peace as one of the aims of
education. It is in this regard that the United Nations (UN) has
been piloting a global movement for the establishment of a
culture of peace through education by promoting initiatives to
help people recognize the role of education in establishing a
culture of peace. This is a culture in which people act with the
mindset of peace consciousness and peace becomes a way of life
and of doing things. Achieving this global objective of establishing
peace in the society through education requires the inculcation of
peace dimensions in different aspects of curriculum development,
from instructional goals to content, methodology and evaluation.
In Nigerian curriculum development process, peace education is
not offered as a separate subject but salient topics from this area
of study have been added to the social studies curriculum which
is
offered
to
learners
in
the
Universal
Basic
Education
Programme. However, adequate curriculum development for
education for peace requires more than the addition of some
peace topics to the learning content of some school subjects.
Consequently,
while
proposing
peace
education
as
a
transdisciplinary education that takes place in all learning
spaces, Akudolu (2010, p.7) observed that “since peace behavior
is more caught than taught, it pays to complement school
learning of peace behavior with concerted, conscious efforts to
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promote peace behavior in a systematic way both in-school and
out-of-school”. In-school promotion of education for peace implies
integrating basic elements of peace education (see table 1 from
Akudolu, 2010, p.5) appropriately into all instructional activities
in the school while out-of-school promotion involves all strategies
for the promotion of dimensions of peace education in informal
learning.
Table 1: Basic Elements of Peace Education
S/N PEACE DIMENSIONS
1.
Knowledge
2.
Values and Attitudes
BASIC ELEMENTS
Peace, Justice, Human rights, Civic
participation,
Emotional
literacy,
Problem solving (including conflict
prevention, conflict management and
conflict
resolution),
as
well
as
understanding (including international
and intercultural understanding) etc.
Tolerance, Caring, Social equity, Peace,
Justice, Cooperation and Solidarity,
Human
rights,
Active
citizenship,
Gender
equity,
Self
awareness,
Empathy, Conflict resolution using
peaceful
means,
Promotion
of
sustainable environment, Freedom of
religious practices, Compassion, Respect
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3.
for human life etc.
Active
listening,
Understanding
similarities and differences, Cooperation,
Mediation, Problem solving, Trust,
Critical thinking, Self reflection, Self
esteem, etc.
Skills
Curriculum development for peace education is aimed at
developing these basic elements of peace education in learners in
all forms of education (formal, non-formal and informal). This
implies that the emergent curriculum development for peace
education is one that covers education about peace and
education for peace.
Education For Global Citizenship
One
of
the
ways
that
developments
in
information
and
communication technologies (ICTs) is reshaping human activities
is in the area of availability and accessibility of information any
time, any where and in different modes. With ICTs, a person in
one corner of the globe communicates with another person at the
other corner of the globe simply at the press of a button. In the
same vein, a person stays in the comfort of her/his room and
follows world events through the internet. People stay in their
houses in different countries and participate in teleconferences
and electronic discussions. Davy (2011, p.3) summarizes these
technology based developments by stating that “the world is
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changing, and there is evidence that we are entering a postinternational environment: borders are weakening, multiple
citizenships are more common place, migration has reached
record level, and we have encountered the death of distance”.
The use of ICTs has removed the problem of distance in
information exchange and everybody appears to be close to
everybody else regardless of location. Consequently, the world at
the present time is often referred to as a global village. There is a
growing need for people to understand different cultures as well
as the what, how and why of global events. Every society hopes to
satisfy this need through education. Andrzejeski and Alessio
(1999, p.7) opine that “by learning how global issues affect
individual and community lives, how and why decisions are made
which affect the planet and life on it, and, most importantly,
means by which the future can be influenced, education can
prepare students to become socially responsible global citizens”.
Since one of the goals of education is to prepare the learner for
effective life in the society, and the present 21st century society is
a globalized one, education for global citizenship is an emergent
issue in curriculum development. The overall philosophy of
Nigeria is to live in unity and harmony and “promote interAfrican solidarity and world peace through understanding” (FRN,
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2004, p.6) and the national educational goal that is derived from
this philosophy is “the training of the mind in the understanding
of the world around” (FRN, 2004, p.8). However, global events
indicate that the citizenship education offered to learners at the
universal basic education (UBE) level is inadequate for achieving
this goal of education. For learners in Nigeria to be prepared for
international competitiveness, curriculum development efforts
that cover both national and international affairs is the ideal.
This is the type of curriculum that can prepare the learner for
effective local citizenship and responsible global citizenship.
Many countries all over the world are already implementing
education for global citizenship. The United Kingdom (UK)
developed a curriculum for Global citizenship in 1997 and since
then, learners are acquiring education for global citizenship in
schools and in global citizenship projects funded by such bodies
as
Department
for
International
Development
(DFID)
and
International Development Education Association of Scotland
(IDEAS). Education for global citizenship (EGC) gives learners
“the knowledge, understanding, skills and values that they need
if they are to participate fully in ensuring their own, and others’
well-being and to make a positive contribution, both locally and
globally” (Oxfam, 2006, p.1). The aim is for the learner to become
a responsible global citizen. Oxford (2006) itemized the three key
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elements of responsible Global citizenship as knowledge and
understanding, skills as well as values and attitudes. The
element of knowledge and understanding covers social justice
and
equity,
diversity,
globalization
and
interdependence,
sustainable development, as well as peace and conflict. Items in
the skills element are critical thinking, ability to argue effectively,
ability to challenge injustice and inequalities, respect for people
and things as well as co-operation and conflict resolution. Items
in the values and attitudes element are sense of identity and selfesteem, empathy, commitment to social justice and equity, value
and respect for diversity; concern for the environment and
commitment to sustainable development as well as belief that
people can make a difference. These skills, knowledge and values
should
guide
the
development
of
curriculum
for
global
citizenship.
It is necessary to point out that this presentation is not proposing
education for global citizenship (EGS) to be implemented as a
separate subject on the school timetable. EGC is a global ideology
that covers all areas of the curriculum. It is made manifest not
only in what is taught and learnt but also in the schools decision
making process, the entire school ethos, and the relationship
among learners, teachers, parents, members of the community
and other stakeholders in the school. In fact the curriculum for
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EGC encompasses the whole school from the learning content to
presentation strategies as well as the people and the culture of
the school.
Teaching And Learning Strategies
The
teacher-centered
instructional
strategies
that
have
dominated instructional process since the advent of formal
education are no longer adequate for inculcating in learners the
knowledge, skills, attitude and values necessary for effective life
in a knowledge driven society. They are instructional strategies in
which the learner is merely a recipient of knowledge that comes
out from the teacher. In most cases the learner memorizes the
knowledge and presents it to the teacher on demand. These
instructional strategies cannot develop in the learner, the abilities
of autonomy, innovation, lifelong learning, collaboration, and
other 21st century knowledge and skills. To prepare learners for
effective life in this 21st century, the instructional process is
shifting
from
textbook
–
driven
and
teacher
–
centered
methodologies to flexible, creative, innovative and learnercentered methodologies. Consequently, the emerging instruction
methods are participatory, interactive and learner-centered. A
learner-centered methodology places the learner in charge of
his/her learning and this leads to the development of autonomy
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in the learner. A learner develops autonomy in learning when
he/she derives meaning from the learning content. Participatory,
cooperative and interactive methods are used to help the learner
develop a sense of identification with the learning content.
Examples of participatory methods are cooperative group work,
peer teaching, different types of group discussion, humanistic
methods such as role play, games, quizzes, simulations, and
brainstorming.
There is need for teachers to make a paradigm shift from the
traditional
instructional
strategies
to
these
emergent
instructional strategies so as to help learners develop the 21st
century skills. Though some of these skills have been mentioned
earlier in this communication, an examination of the group of life
and career skills which is one of the three groups of 21 st century
skills presented by Partnership for 21st Century Skills (PCS) in
America
drives
home
the
fact
that
these
skills
require
instructional strategies that differ from what is practiced at the
present time in a good number of classroom situations. Life and
career skills according to PCS (2011:2) encompass the following
skills:

Flexibility and Adaptability

Initiative and self-direction.

Social and cross-cultural skills
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
Productivity and Accountability

Leadership and Responsibility
These and other such 21st century skills are not just
necessary for performing well in examinations or for job creation
but above all for achieving the development of the learner as a
“whole
person”
who
can
adequately
face
complex
and
challenging situations in life. None of these five skills can be
acquired through the learning of a particular subject. Effort is
made to integrate these skills into the different subjects in the
curriculum. In this regard, curriculum implementation has to be
interdisciplinary, integrated and project-based.
CONCLUSIONS AND THE WAY FORWARD
Our discussion so far has shown that the purpose of education is
shifting from imparting knowledge to learners to building the
learners’ knowledge, capacity and skills for successful real-world
living. This shift of emphasis in educational endeavours has given
rise to transformations in the teachers roles in education
delivery; from knowledge dispenser to facilitator of learning; from
all-knowing teacher to lifelong learner; from knowledge deity to
knowledge professional and from education bureaucrat to
learning technocrat. For teachers to play these roles and
transform the learners into knowledge workers, these teachers
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must possess and effectively manifest the desired 21st century
knowledge, skills, attitude and values and also be capable of
infusing these values into the school system. This implies that
teacher education programmes need to be overhauled to ensure
that
apart
from
knowledge
of
content
and
traditional
methodologies, that the pre-service teachers have the awareness
of and commitment to the promotion of relevant knowledge and
skills in the learners. Bose (2011, p.2) shares this view and
warns that:
If teachers are to develop in their students these
abilities, the instructional strategy adopted for them
should overcome the present bias for lecture and include
projects and field based work using ICT to encourage
collaborative knowledge application and creation by
learners.
Focusing on interactive and participatory teaching method as
well
as
content
areas
in
pre-service
teacher
education
programmes, can prepare these teachers to adopt teaching
methods that can motivate and engage learners and thereby
promote in them the abilities for interaction, participation,
cooperation, critical thinking, problem solving, self-direction,
responsibility and learning to learn, along with the other 21st
century skills.
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the Future, Edited by UMO. Ivowi and Ben B. Akpan (Eds.). 153 – 166, 2012.
Foremost Educational Services Ltd. Lagos.
This discussion has presented the realignment of educational
objectives and the implementation of peace education and global
citizenship
education
as
emergent
issues
in
curriculum
development that are capable of fast tracking the nation on the
route to knowledge emancipation and peaceful coexistence. This
is necessary in a nation that is struggling to survive the
insurgence of ethnic and religious rivalry, different forms of
security challenges and high illiteracy rate in a knowledge
economy. Curriculum development in these emergent areas will
help the nation to “live in unity and harmony as one indivisible,
indissoluble, democratic and sovereign nation founded on the
principles of freedom, equality and justice” (FRN, 2004:6).
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Foremost Educational Services Ltd. Lagos.